Elder Care in Markham – Exercise Your Way to Better Health
Exercise is not only good for your body but it’s also good for your brain. As people get older, their brains tend to shrink. This can often lead to medical conditions affecting mental functions such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Research shows exercise can help improve the hippocampus – a major portion of our brain, plays a role in processing long-term and short-term memory as well as spatial reasoning. A study done in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, links regular cardiovascular exercise with helping to keep the brain from shrinking and can even improve the hippocampus. Since Alzheimer’s disease tends to attack the hippocampus area first, the research found exercise, even moderate exercise, can help prevent memory loss. The study discovered:
Adults between the ages of 55 and 80 years old who walked three days a week for 40 minutes for one year, actually showed a growth in their hippocampus area. They showed an increase of 1.97% on the right side and 2.12% on the left side.
The older adults in the study, who only did some stretching exercises, didn’t have any hippocampus increase and actually showed a small decline in the same area of the brain. The group showed a drop of 1.40% on the left side and 1.43% on the right side.
According to the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP), “Being active for at least 150 minutes per week can help reduce the risk of:
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- High blood pressure
- Certain types of cancer
- Type 2 diabetes
- Osteoporosis
- Overweight and obesity
And can lead to improved:
- Fitness
- Strength
- Mental health, morale and self-esteem” – http://www.csep.ca/CMFIles/Guidelines/CSEP_PAGuidelines_adults_en.pdf,
Medical experts say atrophy of the brain as we age is not inevitable because regular exercise has shown to improve it. The study results gave a better understanding of how the mechanisms of each area of our brain works and something as simple as regular moderate exercise can improve it, which helps prevent a decline in memory. A similar study done also showed exercising (walking 6 – 9 miles a week) can lower your risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Moderate physical activities such as walking, dancing or something that gets your heart rate up, have been shown to be beneficial in preventing Alzheimer’s. Also, while it’s better to exercise and stay at a healthy weight early on in your life, it’s never too late to begin a healthy lifestyle including exercise to improve your brain’s functions.
Consider hiring elderly home care to help your senior loved one exercise on a regular basis. An elderly home care provider can also assist with the tasks of daily living such as meal preparation, doctor’s appointments and bathing.
Contact us for elder care and companionship. For more information about elderly care services, call 905-709-1767.
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